EPA and the Marine Corps provide sampling results of ABC One Hour Cleaners/Tarawa Terrace in Jacksonville, Onslow County, N.C.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) today announced the results of a sampling investigation at Tarawa Terrace Elementary School and a portion of Tarawa Terrace I base housing complex at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, Onslow County, N.C. This partnership, between EPA and USMC, was formed to assess the current conditions concerning groundwater contamination and soil vapor intrusion.

As part of the ongoing cleanup at the ABC One Hour Cleaners (ABC) Superfund Site in Jacksonville, EPA maintains a network of monitoring wells that are sampled on a regular basis. Data from this monitoring network indicate that the plume of contamination from the ABC site does not extend beneath Tarawa Terrace Elementary School or housing area and is therefore not capable of generating a soil vapor intrusion concern. The data generated from sampling by USMC and EPA confirmed that currently there is not a soil vapor intrusion threat to residents in Tarawa Terrace or students at the Tarawa Terrace Elementary School. Soil vapor intrusion is the movement of volatile chemicals from the subsurface into overlying buildings.

The first phase of the sampling investigation took place during the week of July 16-24, 2007, and included collection of groundwater, soil, and soil vapor samples. Data from samples collected did not indicate the presence of significant contamination from ABC Cleaners. In groundwater samples collected from 10 locations, tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was detected at only one location at extremely low concentrations. The other contaminants of concern were not detected in any of the samples collected.

The second phase of the sampling investigation took place on Aug.1, 2007. EPA conducted indoor air sampling at Tarawa Terrace Elementary School and two unoccupied homes in the Tarawa Terrace I housing complex. The data collected from the interior of the school and the two vacant homes were compared to health based screening levels developed by EPA. The data did not indicate the presence of PCE or trichloroethylene (TCE) in excess of EPA risk based levels of concern.

Detailed information about the sampling investigation can be found in the following documents at http://www.epa.gov/region4/news/camp_lejeune/, which include:

EPA Split Sampling Results Groundwater Characterization Tarawa Terrace Elementary School, Camp Lejeune, NC – August 6, 2007

Final Analytical TAGA Report – ABC One Hour Cleaners, Jacksonville, NC – August 27, 2007

Memorandum – Tarawa Terrace School Air Data – ABC Cleaners/MCB Lejeune Site – August 14, 2007

Memorandum – Evaluation of Indoor Air Data from Two Unoccupied Base Housing Units, USMC Camp Lejeune Site – August 31, 2007